The Hantla Herald

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

I have decided to hit the refresh button on Rani! There is no going back so no need to pretend there is a re-do button. Besides how boring a life that would be, I would just be constantly going back and re-doing stupid stuff I said! Oh darnit, I forgot to tell so and so how much they meant to me, or I forgot to ask them how their trip was...it's sad to say but I think that's what I would spend my time doing if there was such a thing. So, how about a "Refresh Button"? You can push the button any time you want, you just have to be prepared to actually be refreshed. For example, as I look back at the last few months I realize I haven't been kind enough, patient enough, or purposeful enough. Therefor, my "Refresh Button" gives me the opportunity to purposefully change that for at least a little while, until I forget or something big happens in life, or perhaps I hit the "Refresh Button" again for a new reason. No, it's not a New Year's Resolution, or a Middle of the Year Resolution, it's just a way to make myself better tomorrow! Oh and by the way it works best if the people in your life know that you've pushed it....

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Before I begin the fun and awesome part I want to share a little of my heart because, there isn't my son's first birthday with out all of my heart being out there. This first year of Johnny's life, as an outside baby (as Alicia Marshall would say) has been nothing short of an adventure! From pregnancy to birth to learning how to care for this innocent, fragile little baby it has been the most amazing adventure of my life. And Johnathon, words just can't even describe this amazing little person, but I shall try. He is kind, generous, timid, loving, and funny as all get out! We are so excited for Johnny's life and so many more birthdays! Having all of you there in person and in spirit just makes it that much sweeter.The Birthday Party

We played a Johnny themed game! Guests had to try to put the Johnny and elephant pictures in the correct order from 1 mo to 1 yr. If they got it right they got a bottle of wine, and no cheating by looking on FB!

These are the party favors. They had rocket ship stickers and Cardinals footballs in them!

This is Johnny's fabulous Birthday Cake created by Charlene Sharp, the Cupcake Queen!
http://thelifeincupcakes.blogspot.com/

A little of the Rocket Ship decor...

Eli, Johnny's Fashionista/Cousin!

Our friend Hannah!

Dad, Great Gpa Bob, and Great Uncle Jerry

The GodParents!

Same hairstyle as daddy just parted on the opposite side!

Tiger and Eli

Cake time!

Time for the Rocket Show! It was a success and so much fun to watch my husband build those rockets over the last couple of weeks.

And, nobody got the month pictures correct. So guess who has 5 bottles of wine....This mama!!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

This is Johnny on the plane to Miami. He was such a good little boy! One of my wonderful customers at the bank gave me a gift card to Target so we got him an Elmo to hopefully keep him busy on the plane!

This is mommy feeding Johnny at the Miami airport while we waited for the plane to Jamaica! We had a great view of the rain.

Johnathon and his little bouncing ball were a magnet for all of the other kids in the airport. It was cute watching them pass it back and forth and learning Spanish from the little boy in the picture.

Finally, we made it to the beach! This is the very first time Johnathon touched beach sand, and he will never be the same! He loved the beach and the sand so much.

We loved the people in Jamaica, and they loved Johnny! We went across the street to do some shopping and a gal ran up to us with her 4 month baby named OJ, they were instant friends.

This is the the happy family on the balcony of our room during a rain storm.

This is called a Bob Marley....enough said.
Chris and I have been on vacation with each other before but this felt like a real family vacation. We are so happy to have our family, and to be able to go on adventures happily with each other. Looking forward to many many more with our Johnny. Ya Mon, no problem!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

The past two days have been kind of difficult for me. The reason for my short bout of sadness is that our son Johnathon got a DOC band. The DOC band is a helmet that infants wear to reshape their heads, it is white, shaped oddly, and quite obviously there. Johnathon doesn't seem to mind it being there, the day we got it, I cried all the way home and, Johnathon fell asleep. He doesn't even mind the extra sweat his head is doing while it gets used to the band, or the little red spots on his skin while the Orthotist perfects the shape. He is the perfect picture of patience and how to go with the flow.
The band is a necessary instrument in our little boy's growth but....this mommy is upset! The reason I am giving for my reluctance is that I don't like torturing my little boy. Seriously, who would want to wear that thing! But, there is another reason...Johnathon is a cute little boy! I really don't like the fact that he is being covered with this horrible thing for the next 2 months. That's right I said it, I'm vain about my little one's appearance! I don't want people staring at him because he has a helmet, I want them to stare because he's so cute. It turns out my vein of vanity runs deep. The next 2 months will be tough for me, but Johnathon won't know that and the helmet will be worn and taken care of exactly as it is suppose to because, although I dislike it immensely I do believe it's what's best for my baby so it will be done!
Here is a great opportunity to post a picture of it but I'm not ready for that Haha!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

We have a beautiful, wonderful, sweet, gentle bird dog named Hans. He is a German Shorthaired Pointer who loves camping, hiking and chasing the occasional bird. So why is there a question mark after "Bird Dog?" Well, every spring a family of Mocking Birds moves in to the tree next to our backyard. These birds are very aggressive and territorial. We have witnessed, on many occasions, them dive bombing our precious Bird Dog! Last year Hans resorted to peeing and pooping in the house because he was so scared to go outside. This year the pattern seems to be repeating itself. My first instinct is to get mad at Hans and tell him to stand up for himself be the Bird Dog and chase them away! Then, I look into his big brown petrified eyes, and all I want to do is pillage those birds' nests so that they will leave my Hans be. However, pillaging a bird's nest would not be very humane or neighborly of me. What's a "Bird Dog's" mommy to do?

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

I've been thinking about babies and their daddies lately. The mommy/baby bond is fairly easy to accomplish especially if you are breast feeding, but what about the daddy/baby bond?!
Our friend Kirsten recently posted to facebook a video of her husband and Baby Daddy making their son, Finn, smile and it was oh so precious...that little boy obviously loves his daddy. On the same token that daddy obviously loves to spend time with his baby.
I've also had the joy of watching my own dad be a daddy again. He has two young sons, Colton who is 3 and Jake who is almost 2. Both of the boys run to the door when he comes home, they just can't get enough of their daddy!
Even more fun has been watching my husband and Baby Daddy form the bond that he has with our son Johnathon. I know he is only 5 months old but I swear he just lights up when his daddy comes home, and his daddy lights up even brighter! It is very obvious that they love spending time together, I don't even have to beg my Baby Daddy to spend time with his baby because that is all he wants to do!
So, if you have a wonderful Baby Daddy in your life give him a hug and words of encouragement because the work that he is doing now will last a lifetime. If you are a Baby Daddy and you don't spend quality time with that baby of yours well my friend you are missing out! If you are a Baby Daddy that is doing the good work well props to, and thank you!